Athletic shoe



May 18, 1954 E. R. DYE 2,678,507

ATHLETIC SHOE Filed July 24, 1952 IN V EN TOR.

' ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 18, 1954 um'rco smrses PATENT OFFICE ATHLETIC SHOE App'licationiluly 24, 1952 Serial No. 300,747

2 Claims. 1

This invention relatesto athletic shoes and is particularly concerned with the constnuction of cleats z-fior shoes of this type. The inventicnqis most directly concerned with soothe/l1 shoes, but has x-appl-ioationto other .fields of spent also.

The invention of thisxapplication is :in the nature of an improvement on the construction disclosed: and claimed many so pending applica- .tion, Serial No.32 17g025, filed March 22, 195-1. The preferred (embodiment of the invention :of my ccopending wamlication :has been subjected to acontinuousand expanding commercial *usesince the date of the :fi'lirrg of the application, and while the construction has demonstrated itself to .be superior .in most respects :to :earlier :types of cleats, there are certain disadvantages :in use under particular {and rather unusual conditions. It is to :the correction of these disadvantages that the present invention is directed.

The invention of lcopend-ing application is most panticu larly concerned "with ex. traction cleat comprising preferably a continuous and substanxtially circular ring positioned on the fore part of the sole of the shoe. It has been found that a ring @of functions penfectl-y to facilitate l.

pivoting of :the toot so long as the shoe wearer is running directly on the balls of his .feet. However, when it is desired to execute ,a particularly sharp pivot :or turn, the wearer :is --occasional-ly required to turn on one or the other side edges of the tore part'ofwtheshoe. When this maneuver is performed with :the ,preterred embodiment of the. invention shown in my co-pending application on .a Wet ,orsloplry field, it will occasionally occur that because of the space provided between the-outer peripheryof the ring and thesideedges of the shoeinsufficient traction vvililbe accorded by the small area-of the ring in contact with the ground, and :the player will slip. .In order to correct this difficulty, the present invention contemplates a structure in which the diameter of the ring is of the greatest width consistent with its securance to the sole of theshoe. .As aresult of this improvement, even Whenthe player is twisting or pivoting .on the extreme side edges of the shoe, there willalways be a segment of the ring periphery engagingthe ground and this has proved suificient to prevent slipping even under these rather extreme circumstances.

It has been found, however, that :when the diameter of the ring is increased to bring the peripheral edge closely adjacent to the side edge of the Shoe and the cl'eat is properly positioned on the ball of the foot "for pivoting, the lower "portion or the ring will project over the natural transverse flexing line of the sole, thereby rendering it difiicult "to flex the shoe. According-ly, in the present improvement I have removed the rear portion of the ring plate including the ring itself along a chord line transverse of the shoe and disposed just forwardly of the natural transverse flexing line of the shoe. The rearward edges of the remaining ring portion have also been tapered rearwardly to increase the comfort of the shoe and to facilitate the discharge of mud or clods accumulated in the interior of the ring. The clod breaking bulge disposed interior of the ring, which is an'im'portant featureof the construction of co-ipending application, is utilized in this improvement .also, but has been improved by providing a "continuous downward inclination from the crown of the bulge towards the rearward edge of the ring plate.

.As .a result of "the non-continuous ring and bulge construction contemplated by the present invention, it has :been :found that the discharge of accumulated .mud occurs even more readily than in the preferred continuous ring of the earlier structure. The reason for this :is that there is always a tor-ward movement as the shoe contacts the ground in running and any mud .or "cl'ods which have been accumulated in the periphery of the ring and not broken up and discharged by the interior bulge are quick-1y :forced toward the outlet opening :at the rear and there discharged.

Referring now to the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is 'a bottom plan view of the outsole of :an athletic shoe illustrating the arrangement and positioning of the cleats contemplated :by the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspectiveview of the same construction.

Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 3-3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view along the line 4-4, Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational View illustrating particularly the flexing of the shoe :along a transverse line rearward of the pivot cleat.

An athletic shoe of a generally conventional type is indicated by 4.0. Since these shoes are usually of the welt type, a welt stitch line H is indicated on the outer surface of :t-heoutsole L2. The pivot clear, which is characteristic of the invention has been designated generally as 1'3, and as shown in Figures '1 to -'5 particularly, is positioned :on the forward portion of the shoe sole with its peripheral side edges almost coinciding with the welt stitch line H and closely adjacent the side edges i l of the outsole l2. The rear edge of the pivot cleat i3 is positioned just for- Ward of the flex line It of the shoe as is clearly illustrated in Figure 5. The pivot cleat may be secured to the outsole l2 by four rivets i! as illustrated, although the means of attachment does not comprise a feature of the invention and may be of some other type if desired.

A toe cleat i8 is preferably positioned forward of the pivot cleat and approximately equidistant between the front edge of the pivot cleat and the toe of the outsole. This toe cleat may be secured to the outsole by attachment means it which again may be of any conventional type. A pair of heel cleats 2il2l of identical construction are positioned in side by side relationship on the heel portion of the outsole. As illustrated, these heel cleats may be of the conical type, out their exact construction and manner of securance to the outsole does not form a feature of the invention.

The details of the construction of the pivot cleat 13 are as follows. The cleat comprises essentially a plate 2% which preferably perfectly round except for the portion cut away along the chord line which establishes the edge it. An upstanding peripheral ring 22 extends completely around the sides and front. The outer edge 23 of this ring may be perpendicular to the ground or may be inclined inwardly to a very slight degree. The lower or ground engaging edge of the ring is preferably rounded slightly, although, if desired. it may be flat. The central portion of the plate 2! inclines continuously downwardly from the innor edge of the ring 22 towards the center of the ring forming a channel or trough 25 and then extends upwardly to form the bulge 26 which occupies a considerable portion of the area of the plate centrally of the ring. The crown of the bulge 25 is preferably slightly above the level of the ring edge 26 so that the ordinary contact between the cleat and the ground will be only on the ring surfaces. The tapering of the plate from the ring inwardly toward the bulge is a continuous curvature and the same is true of the tapering from the crown of the bulge outwardly toward the ring. As previously stated, toward the rear or open side of the ring the bulge tapering continues toward the outsole of the shoe and the edge I5 is preferably inclined or rounded in this direction also.

This construction of the pivot cleat provides a particularly effective means for inhibiting the accumulation of mud within the confine of the ring and for discharging such mud as may be accumulated. The continuous curvature of the entire inner surface of the plate 22! and the bulge 26 tend to prevent any accumulation of mud because as is well known a material of this consistency will not adhere tightly to a curved surface. Furthermore, the bulge tends to limit the size of the mud accumulations and to some extent to break them up. If mud is accumulated, the constant forward movement of the cleat tends to discharge it through the trough or channel 25 formed between the bulge and the ring and down and out the opening at the rear. The rearwardly tapered back edges 2? of the ring 22 also cooperate both in inhibiting the accumulation of mud and in its discharge.

The toe cleat IE3 preferably has a curvature which is generally concentric with the curvature of the pivot cleat. The forward edge 28 of this cleat, the side edges it, and the rear edge 38 are all tapered preferably in an outward direction as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 particularly. The ground contacting surface 3! of the toe cleat is preferably flat and parallel to the ground.

Both the pivot cleat and the toe cleat it are preferably constructed from a hard surfaced material such as aluminum, it being the intention to provide ground engaging surface sufficiently hard and unyielding to cut into the ground while at the same time not suihciently sharp to cause injury to the opposing players.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the construction and combination of cleats described possess many advantages over earlier constructions. The pivot cleat it permits the easy rotation of the foot so frequently desired in dodging and the toe cleat is adapted to cooperate With the pivot cleat in this respect as it is, of course, true that a runner ordinarily pivots almost entirely on the fore part of the shoe. The location of the edges of the pivot cleat closely adjacent the side edges of the shoe prevents any possibility of slipping even in the sharpest turns, while for the reasons stated, the accumulation and retention of mud or'dir't within the cleat confines is almost impossible. A good driving forward action is provided by the combination of the toe cleat and the forward edge of the'pivot cleat. At the same time Where resistance to rearWard'movement is desired, as in defensive line play, the heel cleats provide the requisite strength and rigidity.

The utility of the invention in preventing injury to the wearer should be readily apparent. The wide strong platform provided by the pivot cleat enables theplayer to pivot or give under physical contact, thereby greatly reducing the ankle and knee injuries so frequently incurred when the cleats are imbedded at the moment the contact occurs. Similarly, on a dry or frozen field there is less danger of ankle injury because the fore part of the foot is more firmly upported over a greater area and the sole is actually closer to the ground than with the conventional conical cleats.

Having fully described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination with an athletic shoe, a traction device attached to the fore part of the sole thereof, said device comprising a cleat plate of rigid, hard surfaced material, said cleat plate be ing circular in outline on the front and side edges and having a straight rear edge, the side edges of the cleat being disposed closely adjacent the side edges of the shoe sole and the rearedge being disposed 'ust forwardly of the natural transverse flexing line of the sole, said cleat includinga depending ring conforming in outline to the outer side and front edges of the cleat and having its inner side surfaces continuously curved towards the center of the ring and a bulged member disposed interiorly of the ring, said bulged member being of less height than the ring and having its surfaces continuously curved outwardly and downwardly towards the ring.

2. In combination with the athletic shoe, a pivot cleat secured to the fore part thereof, said cleat comprising a rigid substantially circular plate configurated to form a ring adjacent to the periphery thereof, the ring being substantially circular on its side and front edges, the rearward portion of said plate also being configurated to form an outwardly bulged element disposed centrally in the interior of the ring, said outwardly bulged element being of slightly less height than the ring and forming with the interior side or" the ring continuous curved surfaces effective to inhibit the accumulation of mud, said cleat being disposed on said shoe so that said chordal line extends transversely of said shoe, just forward of the normal flexing line of the shoe sole, the remainder of the cleat being disposed forwardly of said line, the outer side edges of the ring being closely adjacent to the side edges of the shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Tillinghast Feb. 12, 1907 Kline Jan. 24, 1911 Nye Feb. '7, 1911 Meakim Sept. 28, 1915 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Jan. 2, 1947 

